I'm Grateful For ..

- the amazing abilities that our bodies have to heal themselves! I'm feeling SO much better this week!

- the quiet dark corner that I found in the library! It is my favorite study spot! This morning I even got a 10 minute cat nap in - I'm a big believer in cat naps - especially with how busy I am these days!

- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread from Old Gristmill. How can you have a bad day when you've got a slice to eat on the run?

- I made a friend and study partner in my Psych Stats class yesterday! For me, this is a big deal, because for some reason, I am super shy at school. Sometimes I feel like I'm so much older than the other students and that I have nothing in common with them, so when I make good friends in my classes, it makes me happy!

- my phone. I'm super grateful for my phone because it allows me to keep in touch with my husband throughout the day! Again, a really big deal because of how busy school is keeping me!!

What are you grateful for today?

Frustration

It's a frustrating day.

I can't seem to shake this darn cold/flu/sinus infection
(really, I don't know what it is, but I do know that I feel really crappy 

and that at times, I might possibly be floating ...)

I felt SO good over the weekend! 

Friday and Saturday were great, then Sunday afternoon it all came rushing back at me.

I called in sick to EVERYTHING yesterday, hoping that all I needed was some rest,
and while I did sleep a lot, it didn't seem to make me feel any better.

It's frustrating because I've got SO much to do.
I feel okay enough to worry about everything on my to do list,
I just don't feel well enough to do anything on that list,
And that is FRUSTRATING.
I'd almost rather be passed out in my bed and incoherent, because then I wouldn't be stressing out ...

I have a test to study for, hours of work to catch up on, 

missed classes to find notes on, laundry to do, a dirty house, and the list goes on and on ... 

(image from www.cartoon-image.blogspot.com)

This is not a good beginning to my Semester.

Pedicures

I just got a pedicure from Lizzie and Eva!

They sure know how to make a girl look pretty!

Baby William

Nate and I got a new nephew over the weekend!

Little William is as sweet as can be!

I have had a cold, so when I met him for the first time, I wore a mask, 

just to be sure that I wouldn't pass anything on to him! 

Lizzie & Eva thought the masks were pretty cool too!

I've been super busy with school and work, 

so I can't wait for Friday to come so that I can snuggle him some more!

Have I mentioned that I love being an auntie?

Organization

Sometimes I think pinterest is evil!

For instance, when I saw a link on how to make these awesome storage shelves for totes
(because we have a ton of them), I told Nate that they were a must do!

Three months and $170 later, they finally got finished the day before school started!

I think they are beautiful!

Not only does it make getting to our storage SO much easier,
but the totes have been cleaned out and de junked, and that makes me super happy!

 

 ***

Addendum to this post :) (January 19, 2012)

Here is the link on how to make these:

And  Debbie, tell Jack that the pieces DON'T fit in a normal tote ...

but a long flat tote should hold them!! :)

Yowza!!

It's official!!

I have started my very last Semester!! Apparently, in my lack of planning for my schooling and schedule,

I thought it would be fun to leave the most stressful Semester to the very end!!

I could get really specific and give you my detailed schedule, but I'm pretty sure no one cares!

I will tell you that every day I leave the house when it is dark and I get home when it is dark, 

and even when I get home, I've still got several hours worth of work to do!

One thing, however, that I really already love about this Semester is my Practicum! 

I am doing it at a local preschool! I'm 15 hours in and I have loved EVERY minute of it!  

My goals at the preschool this Semester include implementing ASL into the school
and helping the director develop and carry out the whole child assessments for the school!!

This Semester promises to be VERY challenging, but if I keep my head clear
and don't procrastinate, it also promises to be VERY rewarding!!

I look forward to proving to myself, once again, that I can do it!!

... ... ... ... ...

Also, if my appearances on our blog this Semester are infrequent and random, now you know why!

Happy studying!!

Christmas 2011

Here's just a random assortment of pictures from our Christmas!!

We had a lot of fun this year hanging out with Blake & my parents,

and, as always, with our nephews & nieces and their families!!

Wow! My mom looks so sassy!!

My sexy husband, preparing some Beijing Beef!

Cooking up a storm!!

Of course, Ellie gets to sit aside while rest of us work!! :)

Awww, my little bro ... this really is a horrible picture of both of us, but it's the only one we got!

Don't ask me what we were doing - this is a silly photo!

A cup of chai in my Polish Pottery from my sister, Jess!

Our favorite give that we gave this year! In case you can't see it, the awesome gold foil letters read 'Bruthas Fo Eva'

Sweet Evangaline in her Christmas Cracker Crown!

Hello!

Lizzie & her hair feathers!! She LOVED them!!

Our Christmas Eve Chinese Dinner! Yumm!!

Ice cream with Omar!!

Donuts with Marisol!!

Carter Fam!!

"Sam, it's a hat ... full of CANDY!"

Silly Sam!

Sweet Sadie Jane!

A Christmas Miracle

Meet Blake - my favorite brother and chef extraordinaire!!

(Don't let the beard and scary evil tat fool you,
he's a softie ... 
AND,
I've NEVER eaten anything he's made that I didn't like)

Blake came home for a short Christmas visit

and wowed us all with his cooking skills for Christmas Dinner!!

For the fam, he made these ribs! 

They looked AMAZING, smelled AMAZING, 

and according to everyone eating them, tasted AMAZING!!

For me (because he loves me, and I'm his FAVORITE sister, 

and I happen to be partial to chicken and turkey,

and I haven't eaten anything other than one of those proteins since the age of 14),

he made this Chicken Madeira.

I have to post two pictures because it was just THAT good! 

The chicken was absolutely AMAZING 

(and it was fun to learn how to cook - the flames over the pan were quite impressive), 

and paired with the AMAZING mashed potatoes and the AMAZING asparagus, 

it was quite a perfect Christmas Dinner.

So there we were, enjoying our dinner, eating like kings on Christmas day ...

Then ...

This happened ...

Blake - my 'favorite' little brother, put a piece of ribs on my plate. 

Right there, next to my AMAZING chicken, my AMAZING potatoes, my AMAZING asparagus.

Of all the ways to ruin my meal ...

For 15 minutes I was told by my brother, 

my parents, 

and my HUSBAND 
(who should support my crazy eating habits NO MATTER WHAT), 

that if I were EVER to try a piece of meat for the REST of my life, 

THIS should be it.

The pleaded, and begged, and promised, 
and cut that tiny piece into an even tinier piece ...

I'm pretty sure that when I picked up the fork, my dad went into some kind of shock.

I handed Nate the camera and told him that if it happened, there had to be proof ...

And I DID it!!

I tasted the ribs!! 
I put them in my mouth, chewed them up, 
savored the AMAZING sauce that Blake covered up the meaty taste with ...

And then I spit it out into that bowl that you see sitting in front of me!!

It was Christmas, after all, and I didn't want to have a sick stomach for the rest of the night!!

But I did it!!

I tried them!!

I enjoyed the way they tasted!!

I tried a piece of the best tasting ribs that Nate had ever tasted,
then I confirmed with myself that I am content eating chicken and turkey!!

And even though my eating habits will remain the same, 
I took a step towards bravery that Christmas Dinner,
I tried a piece of ribs!


It was a Christmas miracle!!

2012

Wow! 2012 already?

It has been a great year for Nate & I! We spent a lot of wonderful time together, with our families, with our friends, and we made some really fun memories!

This new year is going to be a big one for us, with lots of changes that will be coming our way! We are looking forward to the changes as the challenges that we'll conquer together!

We rang in the New Year with our good friends, the Wilkies! We had dinner, played some games, laughed a lot, and counted down to midnight!

If things work out the way we're planning, these are the last holidays we'll be spending so close to our families and best friends, and it has made this year extremely special to us!